Knight Fall
by Necronal
Summary: Not saying I'm horrible at summaries cuz everyone sort of is. Set in lizzyleefree's version of Adventure Time and continues two years after the events of "A New Knight". Finn x Bubblegum. The Lich is back. A little clunky with the 1st person style in the 1st 4 chapters but I switch styles to 3rd person in chapter 5. The Image is not mine, it belongs to this "Ayuttt" on deviantart.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hey Guys! 1St Fanfic! This continues on two years after the events of "A New Knight". This chapter doesn't contain much, it's meant as a teaser and a heads up. Expect the Lich! Also, do review this, your reviews are the only comforts on those nights I cry myself to sleep (T'was a joke, don't go assuming I'm all angsty and emotional.)

I woke to the smell of gum and the sight of my beautiful girlfriend's sleeping form. I tried to move out of her embrace without waking her but to no avail as she sleepily opened her adorable eyes and peered at me.

"Uhhh" she moaned "I forgot you're a morning person."

I lean forward to kiss her forehead and whisper "Just getting breakfast ready Peebs, go back to sleep."

She then turned so her back faced me and snuggled into the blankets, returning back to sleep within seconds. As I walked down the stairs of the treehouse I thought about how perfect my life was. Bubblegum moved into the treehouse after we started dating as she said she'd rather be an adventurer and leave the ruling to her mother; the candy queen. She adapted very quickly to the adventurer's life, combining her skill with a bow and her scientific knowledge, making special science arrows that did all sorts of mathematical stuff. We fought evil together just like Jake and I used to. Jake still adventured with us from time to time but he spent most of his time with Lady and his only difference now was that adventuring was certainly harder, PB's intelligence and scientific knowledge was no substitute for magic powers, even if she did have science arrows.

I set to work on breakfast and soon the kitchen was filled with the delicious scent of bacon minutes, Bubblegum stood at the base of the stairs in a pink night gown and slippers, shuffling towards the plate of pancakes while sniffing the air.

"Oh Finn, bacon pancakes? You shouldn't have." She giggled, kissing me on the cheek and then pushing past me to get to the pancakes.

"Aw, It was no trouble" I replied, feeling my face grow warm. I sat down next to her and began to eat too.

After breakfast we each took a shower and prepared our adventure gear. I wore my trademark outfit while PB wore a matching set of pink shirt and rarely wore dresses now that she stopped having to perform her royal duties.I made sure that everything we needed was in my green backpack while PB took the bow I crafted for her and her quiver of completely mathematical arrows.

We then headed out towards the cave where a creature was, the candy queen ordered us to slay it as it was terrorizing the country for much was known about the monster from the witness's accounts except that it made really loud exploding sounds and bright flashes of light when it attacked due to the fact that most of the candy people just exploded when it came.

"Finn? What's wrong? You look worried." The sound of PB's voice shook me out of my thoughts.

"It's nothing, just um thinking about where we could go for lunch later!" I lied a little too eagerly. Despite what I said, I couldn't shake the sneaking suspicion in my gut that something was amiss.

Luckily, PB didn't seem to notice as she just grinned and replied "We could go to my mom's place later, we haven't visited in awhile."

I absent-mindedly nodded and gave a forced smile in reply. Before we knew it we were at the entrance of the creature's lair. It was dark and eerie, sending shivers down my spine just by looking at it. My brain was hurting and there was a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something important, but it was like trying to remember a dream and every time I came close to the memory, I stopped just short.

I was once again interrupted by PB's excited face, (she was so curious about exploring everything) she drew me in close for a passionate kiss before shouting "Last one in gets to do the dishes!" leaping into the darkness of the cave.

My doubts forgotten, I dived in after her wearing a grin stained with pink lipstick.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note: Sup Guys (All 3 of you), I'm back and this is a thing now. I might write short chapters or long ones depending on how busy I am but I WILL try to publish this story weekly. Please Review and without anymore babbling, enjoy! ˆ_ˆ**_

_**This** **is the updated Chapter 2, I've changed it slightly from the the original.**_

The cave was dark and damp, the stench in the fetid air would have probably killed Jake with his sense of smell. PB wrinkled her nose in disgust as we trudged deeper into the cave, she reached out and took my hand in hers, looking disconcerted. I noticed how sticky her hands were (human equivalent of sweaty palms).

"Don't worry, whatever it is, we can handle it." I said giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. She looked back at me, nodding as we continued on. The further we walked into the cave, the more rank and damp it got. The air hung thickly around us, as if trying to choke us with it's odor. It was almost unbearable until we reached the back and all thoughts of discomfort faded. The back of the cave had metal boxes set on a table as well as a map detailing the area around the Candy Kingdom.

"What is this?" I ask, looking around at the equipment surrounding us.

"Those are radios. I-"

"Bam bam bam!" the ground beneath our feet exploded, raining us with pebbles and dirt. I grabbed PB and dove into a crevice, desperately seeking refuge from the projectiles shredding the air around us. The assault stopped and I cautiously peeked at our assailant. I saw only a glimpse of him, but that was enough, the memories all came flooding back and with it, excruciating pain.

My mind roared in protest to the surge of information and I collapsed to the ground, momentarily stunned. Suddenly, it all made sense, the projectiles, the flashes, the loud sounds. The creature was one of the lizard-people!

The lizard-man saw me and took aim with his metal stick, the malicious grin on his face showing his intentions. I saw Bubblegum drawing an arrow from the corner of my eye and prayed she would be fast enough.

"Finn!" She cried, releasing the arrow.

The tip of the arrow hit the metal stick dead on in the barrel and exploded into a gooey substance at the same time the lizard-man pulled the trigger. "Boom!" the metal stick burst apart in a shower of shrapnel and fire. The Lizard-man screamed in agony, clutching his face and falling backwards. He

trashed about awhile before going still.

I turned to look at Bubblegum, she was visibly shaken, she probably didn't expect that arrow to result in such a devastating outcome. After all, she made most of her arrows non-lethal to avoid killing anyone.

"You saved me, there was no other way, you did the right thing." I comforted, pulling her into my arms.

She pushed me away and refused to look at me, crouching next to the dead lizard-man to examine him.

I move to stand behind her, still struggling internally with the memories of the lizard-people.

"He's still alive, barely." She sighed in relief.

She suddenly stood up, reaching behind me and into my backpack, pulling out a reserve of memory dust I kept.

"Bubblegum? What are you do-"

"Shhh, there's no time, just trust me."

She turned to the lizard-man once again and before I could object, she dove into his memories in a puff of vampire dandruff.

Feeling helpless, I paced around the cave in frustration while waiting for her to come back into the world of the living. I looked at the lizard-man, noticing that the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest was getting more and more irregular. PB did not have much time left in his memories.

Just as the lizard-man gave his final gasp, Bubblegum sprang to her feet, eyes wide in shock.

"What did you see?" I grabbed her by the shoulders "How did the lizard-people even arrive on Ooo?"

"N Naa Naga, they call themselves the Naga." she muttered.

"You might wanna sit down for this, what I learned was shocking to say the least."

"The Naga were nearly wiped out by the disease you introduced to them, the survivors blamed you outsiders and magic for the epidemic. All this time, they've been plotting revenge against us, rebuilding their army and finding allies. As for how they got here on Ooo, I didn't have enough time to find out. This creature is just a scout for the rest of the invading force, the radios were meant for it to report back to Aaa. Finn, we're under attack."


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note:Sup Guys!(Now 5 of you!) I'm back baby! Sorry for not adhering to the previous promise of one chapter every week and not uploading anything last week. First I got sick then I had to do my O levels Physics Practical assessment then my birthday! All in all one very very busy week and I just didn't have time to write.I am thinking of switching writing styles into third-person, maybe try it out, tell me what you guys think in a review. As always, Enjoy :D_

I slowly got to my feet, I was sure I was visibly shaken. After all I was just told that the evil remnants of my race that tortured me and made me all messed up had returned. If they were back in force, then the candy kingdom needs help and we needed to warn them.

"Pb, lets go, your mother needs to know this."

"Right, the candy people need to prepare for a possible invasion." She nodded in agreement.

We exited the cave and made a beeline straight for the candy kingdom. Whenever I looked at PB, she looked just as nervous as I felt, adding to my nerves. We quite literally jumped when a familiar and annoying voice rang out.

"Hey guys! Watcha love birds doing?" I slowly turned to see the flying old man in blue following us in the air.

"Not now Ice King! We have important business to attend to." PB snapped, grabbing my hand and storming off.

"Awwhh you guys never include me.." He sounded rather hurt by PB's reaction to his appearance.

"Maybe next time Ice King." I shouted at the rapidly disappearing speck in the sky.

As we walked, the pink spires of the candy kingdom soon appeared on the horizon and before we knew it we were in the throne room before the candy queen.

"My my dear how are you? Have you been eating well? What's the occasion for the visit?" The candy queen fired off question after question at PB.

"I'm fine mom, we have some important news to deliver. The Lizard-people are back, we've learned that the monster that was terrorizing a village on the outskirts was actually a scout for their invading force. They call themselves the Naga and after the plague Finn and the others spread, they want vengeance."

The candy queen's cheerful face immediately changed to a troubled expression. "Well that is distressing news Bonnibei, the kingdom must prepare for war if this is true, also your uncle gumball will need to know of this immediately as well, we might need help from all our allies. Peppermint Butler!"

"Yes milady?" rang out the familiar voice of peppermint butler.

"Prepare the kingdom for war! Increase production of banana guards and marshmallow men! Alert all allied kingdoms of the threat!"

"At once milady!" when he strode past us he winked and said "Good to see you both, princess, Finn."

"Well then, now that that is settled, do you and Finn have time for tea Bonnibei? No point pondering over things that we have little control over. Enjoy yourselves here, surely you have time for your mother now." The candy queen returned to a cheerful demeanor.

"Of course mom! We can stay for tea but Finn's taking me out on a date later in the evening, we'll leave at 4."Bubblegum replied, all previous worry gone from her face.

"Excellent! There's a pleasant surprise in the dining hall for the both of you." The candy queen rose and led the way into the dining room where barking could be heard.

"Jake! Lady! How've you guys been? Oh my glob it's been so long!" PB rushed forward, giving lady a hug.

"Yo Jake! How's the pups? You look exhausted man." I walked into Jake's stretchy arms giving him a hug.

"Finn, lemme tell ya that rainipups are no joke, life's been tough man, the kids are scarier that the Lich himself. Enjoy the adventuring life now dude, when you settle down with PB you'll be tired 24/7."

I felt the rush of blood to my cheeks as thoughts of having children with Bubblegum invaded my thoughts. I quickly took a seat next to PB and Jake, busying myself with the food.

"Hey Jake, speaking of which, where are your kids?" I asked with a mouth half full of food.

"Oh, they're at home, they fell asleep and we left a babysitter with them. Lady and me really needed some private time man, you know?"

Before I could answer my dog-brother, a fog-horn rang out through the kingdom, it sounded out long and loud.I swore that it was practically rattling my teeth by the time it stopped.

I got up, intending to check it out and I was about 90% sure it was trouble. The door of the dining hall slammed open and a tall dark shadow appeared at the door, I fumbled before finally managing to pull my sword out of it's scabbard and point it at the unknown threat at the door.

"Who are you? Step slowly into the light with your hands up!" I demanded, beside me I could see my companions all ready to fight too. PB had already nocked an arrow and aimed it straight at the shadow, Jake had grown to thrice his size, growling and Lady's horn was glowing in multiple shades of rainbow.

The silhouette slowly stepped into the light with his hands raised in surrender to reveal a bearded and grey face.

"Woah! Woah! There's no need for weapons guys, it's just me." Billy frantically waved his arms in front of him.

"Billy? What are you doing here?" We almost simultaneously exclaimed.

"I have come to warn you Finn and Jake. The Lich has returned, I have faced him in battle and I was no match for him. After you convinced me back to my evil-bashing ways I tracked down a snail I believed to be under his evil spell only to find that it was the Lich himself. His powers have almost fully regenerated and I fought him to a standstill but I managed to escape and recover this." He reached under his cloak to reveal the Enchiridion.

"The Lich is somewhere in the Red Rock Wastelands right now and I've come to give you the Enchiridion for safe keeping and to regain my strength before facing the Lich in battle again."He strode over to tower over me, handing me the Enchiridion before looking me in the eye. "Keep this safe Finn, I might not return from this battle, you are the hero of Ooo now. Remain ever-vigilant against the darkness and keep kicking evil-buns."

Then he collapsed in a grey heap on the red taffy carpet.


	4. Chapter 4

_**This** **is the updated Chapter 2, I've changed it slightly from the the original.**_

"Well, he's out cold." Jake commented after a moment of sniffing the unconscious Billy.

"In that case Jake, take him to the infirmary, Doctor Ice Cream and Princess will watch over him and alert us immediately when he comes around." The Candy Queen instructed calmly. Even though she kept tight control over her expressions, I could see she was troubled by the threat of both the Lich and the Naga. Jake stretched into a stretcher(See what I did there? :P) and lifted Billy onto himself, heading to the infirmary.

Lady Rainicorn muttered something to Jake before flying out the window in a hurry, I turned to Jake with a puzzled look before he said "Oh it's fine, she just needs to head back to check on the pups, nothing to worry about man."

"Oh right then, let's go." I turned and followed Jake and the others into the medical wing of the castle. When we got to one of the private rooms, Jake put Billy on the bed with as much care as he would a newborn baby, he was handling our idol after all. I took this time to study Billy's grey weathered face, it was lined with old battle scars and wrinkles and his beard looked more disheveled than a beard possibly could. The last time we saw him he looked old but strong and healthy, now... he just looked old. His grey hair had thinned out even more and his chiseled muscular body seemed much thinner than I remembered, the past few years must have been hard on Billy indeed to have brought this once great warrior to this state.

The Candy Queen seemed to share my thoughts "Oh Billy, how the great have fallen." She sighed, bending over the hero and planting a kiss on his forehead.

Jake's eyes widened to the size of saucepans "Wait a minute Bubblegum's mom, were you dating Billy?"

"Well, not exactly." She sheepishly looked at her shoes while fiddling with her dress nervously.

"Then what is it mom?" Bubblegum suddenly seemed rather interested "And how come this is the 1st time I'm hearing about this?"

"Well, that's all not important. We have bigger problems for the moment, I'll tell you some other time dear. What I will tell you now is that part of your DNA came from Billy, in a way, he is your father."

Bubblegum's eyes widened in surprise, taken aback for a moment. "Oh. My. Glob. Mom! How have you not mentioned this to me? I-I need some time to think."

"That will be good for everyone darling, Billy can rest and we all get some space to ponder the events coming to pass."

"C'mon Finn, lets go home. I've had enough adventure for today."

For once, I'm inclined to agree. The day was mentally and physically exhausting. "Lets go have that spaghetti dinner and spend the night watching movies in the tree house, maybe tomorrow we can visit Billy if he wakes. How does that sound?" I gave the best grin I could manage.

"That does sound great right about now." She agreed, hugging my arm and resting her head on my shoulder. I exhaled, feeling the blood flow to my cheeks and the sudden increase in body temperature.

"Bye mom."

"Bye your highness."

"Bye you two!"

Once out of earshot, I turn to PB, "Hey, Princess? How does it feel to know that you're the daughter of Billy? I mean, you have hero blood in you! You have the-" I was cut off by her putting her finger on my lips.

"Finn, I'm not his daughter." she began

"But-" Once again I was cut off by her finger.

"Finn, Just because I have his DNA doesn't make me his child, I barely know him. I grew up without any experiences with him, only my mother. He didn't raise me, didn't play with me and he definitely doesn't know me." she was surprisingly serene, stating all this with a cool nonchalance.

She turned to look at me, staring straight into my eyes. "Enough adventure for today eh? Lets just relax for tonight, we can leave the problems for tomorrow.

I certainly didn't protest, wanting some alone time with my girlfriend too. "C'mon, let's race to the tree house, last one there will cook the spaghetti and do the dishes."

"You're on!" she broke away from me and dashed away

"Hey! No fair!" I started after her, laughing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Hey guys, really really sorry for not updating in like forever, I went on a holiday to a wonderful country known as Sri Lanka. From here onwards I've decided to write in 3rd person instead because I feel more comfortable doing so, here's where the real plot begins so sit back and read on! As always favorite, follow and REVIEW! I accept any and all critique.**

When Finn first woke, his hand snaked around the bed, trying to find his lover before finally fighting his heavy eye lids open to find the bed empty save for his own signature outfit clad body. He struggled to sit up, groaning due to an intense headache before rubbing his sleepy eyes to survey the room. Lightly put, the room looked like a tornado had run through it, chairs were overturned, tables flipped and there was even a smashed lamp. For awhile he stared at the lamp not even remembering ever owning that particular piece of furniture. He turned to study the sun through the window above his headboard, shocked to discover that it was already noon, he hadn't woken up after 8 since like ever. He rubbed his eyes again, making sure that it wasn't his sleepy morning vision, nope it was still noon. He got out of bed painfully slowly before making his way down the stairs, holding his throbbing head in his hands the whole time.

"Well good afternoon Mr. Morning person." he was greeted by a cheerful smiling Bubblegum holding a cup of coffee which he highly suspected was full of sugar.

"Glob... Peebs w-what happened last night?" He stuttered, shuffling his feet forward to drop into a chair. "It's noon! I've never waken up this late in my life, think about all the stuff I missed while asleep. And the room! Glob, what happened to the room? Ow, and what's with this headache?" He blurted out all his questions before wincing at the last one.

"You don't remember anything? Well then, first off, drink this, it'll help with the headache." She handed him her cup of coffee, continuing only after he took a sip. "I'll start with the headache, it'll probably explain the rest. It's a hangover Finn." she stated a matter of factly.

Finn took another sip of the coffee, feeling his headache start to dull before slowly registering her words in his head. He looked at Bubblegum blankly, the gear cogs in his head slowly turning until the words were processed and he came to the only possible conclusion. '_If this is a hangover, then we must have drank alcohol. I can't remember last night, which means we drank lots and lots of it.' _A foggy memory of him and Bubblegum drinking wine at dinner and giggling hysterically flashed through his mind. '_ The room.. the messy sheets... oh glob.'_ Once again a faint memory of them kissing frantically and then... gone.

He looked up at Bubblegum, his expression a weird mixture of horror and joy "Did we..."

"What do you think?" she replied in the most sultry she could manage, before stating plainly "No. Apparently you're much too gentlemanly to even take advantage of a drunk." She then sauntered up the stairs beckoning Finn to follow.

When Finn reached the top of the stairs, she was standing in front of him, holding up a pair of dark denim jeans. Finn just stared at the blue pair of jeans before him, not knowing what his girlfriend wanted.

"Well? Do you like it? I bought it earlier while you were asleep. I think the dark blue really compliments your shirt and form." She beamed from behind the article of clothing.

"Erm, yeah I guess, but I already have a outfit." He looked down at his pair of light blue shorts that barely came down to his mid thigh. "I know it's a little small, but I'm attached." He added after a look at his own pair of leggings, trying to justify his shorts.

"Yeah, No. Finn, I'm not gonna be going out with you in those shorts. They worked when you were younger, in fact they were pretty cute back then but you're 20 now. Those shorts are really, well, short." she insisted, holding out the longer pair of leggings.

"Alright alright, fine." Finn grumbled before grabbing the jeans and going into the bathroom to change.

He studied himself in the mirror after he put on his jeans, whistling at his reflection. _'Bubblegum sure has good taste' _he thought to himself. He stepped out of the bath room "Well how do I lo-" he stopped short when he saw his girlfriend on the phone, her lovely face was creased up in worry, listening intently to the AA battery powered house phone. He walked over to her side, setting a big hand her shoulder, ready to give support to whatever. He started thinking of ways to cheer her up and lift her worries. When she put down the phone, he opened his mouth but stopped short, taken in complete surprise at what came next.

"It's Billy, he's getting worse." All previous thoughts of cheerfulness vanished instantly from Finn's head.

He slowly closed his agape mouth before standing up suddenly, stopping only to utter "Let's go." then he vanished down the steps with nothing but the clothes on his back. Bubblegum barely had time to even blink, then she grabbed Finn's bag, bow and quiver, following her boyfriend. By the time she got to the front door, Finn was already a long way away, long strides carrying him in bounds.

"Wait! Finn!" she screamed to the rapidly disappearing speck on the horizon while sprinting after him. _'When did he get so fast?' _she briefly wondered until the logical problem-solving part of her self replied _'He's been taller than you for a few years now, get used to it. Why run stupid? You only do it because he runs with you.'. _"Right then, gotta find another way to get to the kingdom." She muttered to herself, pausing before taking a deep breath and "SKREEE!" she shrieked to the wind. For a few painfully slow moments, silence hung in the air. _'Dang it, haven't called him in awhile, giant eagles must get hurt when you don't call them for a few years.' _Any further thoughts on the matter were shattered by a faint answering call of an eagle, a speck appeared in the sky, growing bigger and bigger until the giant eagle was upon her, snatching her up in it's talons and soaring into the sky. "Hey there boy, you didn't miss me did you?" she laughed at the wind in her hair, she had forgotten the joy of flying after 4 years it seemed. "To the Candy kingdom!" the Morrow screeched in response, turning sharply to adhere to the directions. For the time being, the former princess just enjoyed the flight, feeling the wind chill the sweat on her skin, the rush of sound and the utter weightlessness in the air. Then, it was back to business. The Morrow dropped her directly on the balcony of Billy's medical room, she pushed open the curtains, stepping into the dimly lit room. Finn was already by his mentor's bedside, her mother was nowhere to be seen, it seemed like they were alone with Billy. She slowly crept to Finn's side, afraid to disturb the heavy silence that hung over the room. "How is he?" she whispered to Finn.

"He's been poisoned by the Lich's foul sorcery. Dr. Ice Cream and Dr. Princess says he won't last through the night." he replied solemnly, depression laced in his tone.

Only now did she study the grey figure on the bed, only now did she notice that even with the stifling summer heat, Billy was shivering intensely, clenching his teeth together to keep them from chattering and arms wrapped around his own massive frame. He seemed barely conscious, not even acknowledging the pair by his bedside, staring blankly into space, he nodded occasionally, as if listening to someone they couldn't see.

"He's really sick Peebs, I don't think he can tell us what he knows in this state. I didn't bring any memory dust with me, we might never know what he knows about the enemy." Finn turned to regard his companion with tears welling in his eyes. "I-"

"Wait!" she shushed him swiftly, raising a hand before trying to figure out what was wrong.

Finn paused, also feeling uneasy at this point, he looked around the room before regarding Billy. His shivering had stopped, at first Finn thought this was a sign of his mentor fighting the poison successfully until Billy gave a faint sigh and closed his eyes slowly.

"NO!" Finn cried, bending over Billy's body to mourn the fallen hero. For a few seconds they remained like that, Finn crying softly into Billy's sheets while Bubblegum patted his shoulder encouragingly. _'Why? He was a great hero, why did he have to go? I can almost still hear his heartbeat in my ears. Wait, that IS his heartbeat.'_ He stopped crying, placing his ear on Billy's chest to listen intently. There it was again! Now that he was searching out for it, the faint irregular beats rang as clear as bells in his ears. "He's alive!" Finn turned to exclaim excitedly to Bubblegum.

"But but, Finn, that's impossible. He's not breathing." She breathed.

They looked straight at each other then turned to stare at Billy's pale grey face. Suddenly, his hands shot up to catch them both by the throats, holding them both in a choke. His eyes opened slowly, but it wasn't Billy who stared back. Green pupils surrounded by black irises stared back as his lips curled upward in a sneer "Surprise."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's note: Here's chapter 6, if you have any feedback or simply enjoyed this chapter then REVIEW! Also don't forget to follow and favorite this story to keep updated on new chapters! **  
_

_Billy's POV_

"Well, I really thought this would be harder. Tsk tsk hero, you have grown complacent over the years." Billy stood up, lifting Finn and Bubblegum higher and higher by the neck until their feet were dangling off the ground. He looked at the two adventurers in his hands, they both had their hands on his own grey ones, trying to dislodge his vice grip on their throats. "And you, I worried that you might be smart enough to see through this plot but I was mistaken, love it seems, has blinded your practicality." he turned to regard the pink squishy candy princess in his left hand. He tightened his grip when they continued to struggle, invoking more resistance.

"B-Bi-Bill-y?" Finn finally managed to croak out, still trying to escape the choking grasp of the grey giant before him.

Billy blinked his green and black eyes twice before bursting out into hearty laughter, his voice echoed supernaturally, as if someone else was laughing at the same time as him. The situation was entirely surreal, here Billy was choking the life out of his former friends and he was laughing like he had just been granted his greatest wish. "I see your intellect hasn't improved with the passing of time. Just to answer your question, I am the Lich. Billy is still here don't worry, he can see all this through his own eyes, a prisoner in his own body. He'll see himself kill everyone he loves and he won't be able to do anything about it. Then finally, when he is begging me for the sweet release of death, I will release him and end his miserable existence." He cackled, dark eyes gleaming with malice. He walked over to the balcony "But in the mean time, I've heard that you've learned how to fly now hero. Shall we put that to the test?" He asked, smiling with sadistic glee.

_Finn's POV_

Finn stuggled, trying to pry away Billy's stone cold fingers from his throat to no avail. He cursed inward at his lean frame and how easily Billy could overpower his weightlessness.

"Au revoir*, boy." Billy breathed before launching Finn off the platform in a toss.

Finn looked at Bubblegum right as he fell, he saw her mask of horror trying to form a scream but he couldn't hear it, all other sounds were cut off from him by the roar of the wind speeding past his ears. He stared at the rapidly approaching pavement for a moment, then he closed his eyes slowly, before he banishing all other thoughts from his mind, focusing simply on the sereneness impending death and the face of Bubblegum in his mind's eye. The last thing he heard was a crunch, followed by darkness.

_Bubblegum's POV_

Bonnibel screamed as Finn fell, tears welled up in her eyes and she screamed some more until Billy let go of her. She fell onto the balcony, choking and sobbing all at once. She was an adventurer, how could she let this happen? She should have been ready, she should have been able to prevent this. The utter helplessness consumed her, she did not even try to resist as Billy produced a length of rope and began to bind her hands and feet.

"Now that that is dealt with, you can watch me kill your bitch of a mother." He stated, heaving Bonnibel onto his shoulder effortlessly as if she were a pack of flour.

She was shocked a moment until her logical mind kicked in and registered the words. _'Of course he would take out the defenses of the kingdom, with Finn and mom gone, the kingdom's defenses would fall easily. The Candy kingdom would fall over like a house of cards, but why would he want the kingdom destroyed? ' _She doubted that the whole plan was just for simple revenge. She decided she wouldn't struggle now to conserve her strength for when an opportunity presented itself.

_Finn's POV_

The 1st thing that greeted Finn when he opened his eyes was the Ice king's beaming face along side Gunther. At first he thought this was hell and that he'd died, then he noticed the pain all over his body and he was still in the Candy kingdom. He winced when he tried to move his left arm, pain shot through his body as he confirmed _'Yup, definitely broken.' _He paused a moment to take stock of his injuries, he counted a few cracked ribs and a broken arm as well as multiple cuts and bruises all over his body. He painfully picked himself off the ground, immediately getting hit by a wave of nausea_ 'Add a concussion to that list.'_ he noted. He stared at the Ice king who was beaming the whole time "What do you want Ice king? The Lich has possessed Billy and I have to save the kingdom, I've no time for you now." Finn demanded accusingly.

"But I just saved you! Aren't you wondering how you survived a 50-foot fall?" The Ice king frantically raised his hands in defense.

Only then did Finn realized that he had landed in a pile of snow, not enough to break his fall entirely, but it saved him. He sighed "Thanks man, you did good. Now I have to stop Billy." He tried taking a tentative step, wincing before collapsing again into a heap.

"Well, I can help! I can fly us into the castle and I can fight Billy too! Please let me help, I came here because I saw the Lich's presence with my wizard eyes." The Ice king pleaded, walking over to Finn and helping him up.

"Alright fine, you can help just don't kill PB again." Finn relented, letting the Ice king grab a hold of him before lifting them both up into the air with his beard. "Do you know where Billy is now?".

"I can sense a presence going to the throne room, I'll take us there." The Ice king huffed with the exertion of carrying Finn.

By the time they reached the throne room, the entire area was in shambles. There were fallen banana guards all over the place, their juices pooled from underneath them. The door to the throne room was ripped from the hinges, the chocolate splintered everywhere. Finn steeled himself to the scene while the Ice king threw up on the rich carpet. Finn walked over to one of the banana guards, noting the criss crossing lacerations in the banana guard's flesh _'Billy is still very skilled in his swordplay, I wonder if I can match up with just one good arm.' _He looked down at his broken arm inside a cast of ice made by the old man behind him, wiping puke off his beard. _'I'll die trying rather than let Billy hurt my friends.' _He decided, picking up the banana guard's candy-cane rapier in his right hand and heading for the throne room, leaving the Ice king behind.

The throne room was much the same as the hall before it, the ground was littered with bodies too. This time however, at the throne was the candy queen, surrounded by banana guards. Heading right for them was Billy, covered in banana juice with a stick-candy broadsword in one hand and Bubblegum over his shoulder. _'He isn't using Nothung, weird.' _Finn noted. Billy dropped Bubblegum, and started to advance towards the ring of brave royal guards. "Lich! Face me you coward." Finn screamed at the back of the grey titan, wincing at the pain shooting through his body when he shouted.

Billy turned around slowly, his eyes burning with evil intent. His body had deteriorated further with the corruption, his body had shriveled slightly with veins popping out everywhere, his skin was a ghastly paling gray. His voice rasped and echoed as he spoke "How are you still alive? Are you simply to damn stubborn to die?"

"How I survived doesn't matter, all that matters is how I'm going to defeat you again. Lich." Finn spat the last syllable out with contempt. He charged at Billy, rapier whistling as it cut the air until it met Billy's broadsword in a shower of sparks. He wheeled back, slashing at Billy repeatedly. The former-hero parried each blow with practiced ease, sparks flew about in the air as both swords met again and again. The entire hall was silent except for the clash of hard candy against hard candy as everyone watched the two master swordsmen go head to head. Finn was tiring and he knew it, his wounds had taken a toll on him while his adversary wasn't even out of breath. He attacked more furiously until Billy hit his blade at an angle that sent the rapier flying from his grasp.

"That was much too easy, as always boy, you are a joke to me." Billy laughed as he threw Finn to the ground with a backhanded strike. "Now you die." He declared, bringing up his sword to strike the hero on the licorice carpet beneath him.

* Au revoir: goodbye in French


	7. Chapter 7

_**Authors note: I'd like to thank all you good people for reviewing and following, you guys let me know that someone is reading and I really appreciate that, blah blah blah damn I sure talk alot. Enjoy Chapter 7!**_

Finn tried to reach for a sword next to him, the handle just inches away... _'If I could just...'. _For a moment, he pondered if the whole situation was simply a dream, it would explain how a perfect life just turned into hell in a few hours. He wondered if he would wake up, Bubblegum next to him and tell her all about it, she would comfort him and they would forget about it, he tried to close his eyes for a moment and will himself to wake up, this was when Billy stomped on his wrist. His eyes flew open and he howled in agony, this was definitely not a dream, somewhere through the pain he thought _'Great, now I have one broken arm and a broken wrist on the other. At least it'll be over soon.'_. As soon as he thought that however, he immediately rebuked himself _'No! I'm not gonna give up! If not for myself, then for Bubblegum, Jake, Lady, Marceline...' _as the list grew, his determination to hang on to life grew stronger, he would not give up and die just yet, he decided.

Billy watched the broken hero beneath him, Finn had stopped screaming a moment ago and had started to look like deep thoughts surrounded him. "What are you doing? Last wishes? Or the regrets of your pitifully short mortal life?" Billy taunted, his supernatural voice echoing in the vast throne room. He raised his sword, intent on finishing the hero, before an arrow whizzed through the air and landed in his shoulder with a resounding thunk. An unholy sound roared from Billy's mouth, a sound nobody Billy's size should have been able to create. He stared at the arrow protruding out from his grey flesh for a moment, clearly dumbfounded before ripping it out, then he began to laugh, beard quivering as he moved. "Good, good. I like some resistance, I thought this would be far to easy to be enjoyable. Your hero, is crippled, your defenses useless, I underestimated you however. You are clearly not the same princess you were when we last met, Bonnibel." He drawed out her name, voice dripping with spite.

Bubblegum stood a distance away, her bowstring still quivering and bonds cut away beneath her. "Get. Away. From. Him." she snarled, drawing another arrow to fire at Billy.

"As you wish." He released Finn's wrist from his boot, walking towards her instead. Bubblegum's arrow whistled through the air straight for Billy before being cut away by his sword in a casual swipe "Excellent form and perfect aim." he commented "Too bad it won't be enough, you have no idea the power I have now." Bonnibel cursed under her breath, beginning to backtrack while continuing to draw and fire arrow after arrow. This time however, Billy didn't even bother to raise a finger, he muttered a few incantations, the arrows burning away in blazes of green fire before they came close to their mark. The few Banana guards left were moving to stand between Billy and the candy princess, they tried to engage Billy but each was cut down in a flurry of attacks, all the while Billy's long stride hadn't slowed.

Soon Bonnibel would reach the wall and then, she would have nowhere to run. She was fully aware that the bow in her hands was of no help against the grey force of evil headed towards her. Billy grinned as he advanced, relishing the fear in the princess's eyes, he got closer and closer until... He tried lifting his left leg, nothing. Then he tried his right, they were stuck. He looked down to find his feet encased in ice, the layer of frost crawling up his legs at an alarming rate, he only had time to open his mouth before he was completely frozen.

"Yay! I did it you guys, I saved the princess!" The Ice king cheered at the door way, breaking out into a dance.

"Yes you did Ice king, would you mind helping me up?" Finn chuckled at the dancing blue old man. He glanced at his girlfriend, sharing a relieved expression when their eyes met.

"Thank you Ice king, the Candy kingdom is in your debt." Bubblegum stepped away from the frozen Billy to help up Finn.

"Hey guys, you think this will win me princesses?"

"Maybe." "NO." Finn and Bubblegum respectively replied at the same time, the latter glaring at the former's answer. "This still isn't over though, Ice king, could you create a bigger prison for Billy? I don't feel safe with that amount." The Candy Princess urged, looking back over her shoulder nervously at the frozen figure behind her.

"Are you kidding me? Finn couldn't break out of half that Ice." The Ice King giggled.

"Hey!" The offended hero exclaimed.

"Well, as you can see, Billy isn't Finn. Look around you, Billy is far out of our league here." She calmly explained, gesturing around the room. As she spoke, Finn surveyed the scene, it was carnage everywhere. Billy had just walked in with the purpose of slaughter and he did just that, the Candy Queen however, was absent from the room.

"Hey Peebs, where's your mom?" He asked while extending his broken wrist for the Ice king to make another ice cast.

"I sent her away to my labs when I cut away my bonds, she is quite safe now."

"Not quite." The two words were barely a whisper, then the prison of ice holding Billy shattered.

Finn shielded himself from the ricocheting shrapnel, seeing the Ice king and Bubblegum do the same, shards of ice cut him in multiple places, adding to the wounds he had sustained today. He briefly wondered how much more his bruised and battered body could take of this before keeling over face first.

"Fiinn!" Bubblegum screamed, he pried open his eyes to see Billy before him. He reacted in a daze, raising his ice encased broken right arm in the way of Billy's approaching sword just in time. The hardened candy sword met the crystalline cast in slow motion to Finn's eyes, the ice holding up for just a moment before cracking and shattering. The blade sliced through the flesh on his arm, leaving a gaping laceration, Finn cried out in more shock than pain, barely having time to register the wound before Billy's edge found his chest in a brutal stab.

_**P.S: Sorry for another cliffhanger, I didn't have time to write a longer chapter**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's note: Here's chapter 8 ^_^ I want to thank Dragonbornmatt, Odradem, Soloeater and everyone else who reviewed, favorited or followed. You guys give me the encouragement to keep writing this story amongst my busy schedule (I'm lying, I'm quite lazy.). I haven't had any contact with lizzyleefree since December last year so it looks like I'm alone now D: Having a mentor to talk to really does help.**_

_**Anyways, Enjoy!**_

Finn stared at the sword in his chest, not believing it was really there. He glanced up at Billy's visage and at his girlfriend over his assailant's shoulder, her eyes wide in shock, mouth slightly agape. He briefly wished he could kiss those luscious dark pink lips one more time, a single tear crawling its way out of his eye. Then his mind exploded in pain, he didn't scream because he didn't want that to be the last thing to escape his mouth. Black spots danced before his eyes, the pain so intense that his knees buckled. Billy chuckled, pushing him lightly with a finger. He didn't have any strength left to resist, falling backwards onto the red stained carpet.

He fought to keep consciousness, _'Damn, going down like this... I should have told Peebs how much I loved her, maybe even proposed...' _His eyelids dropped slowly like curtains over a stage, until he faded into darkness.

"FINN!" when he opened his eyes slightly, he saw the pink face of Bubblegum, face wet with tears. For a moment he thought that he'd died and was in Glob's realm, the place he'd read about in some book. "Please! Wake up!" she pleaded, shaking him again, he took note of his surroundings as best he could with his condition.

"Everything hurts, I just want to go back to sleep." he half mumbled.

"No! Just hang on, stay with me..." She cried back, tearing out a piece of her sleeve to haphazardly bandage his chest. She then moved her arms beneath him, lifting him bridal-style while grunting with the effort.

Finn chuckled inwardly, just realizing that he was almost a head taller then her. All this while he'd always thought of her as the older and bigger one of them. Tears ran down her cheeks freely as she turned to the door, lurching forward with Finn in her arms. When she turned, Finn could see behind them and what he saw shocked him.

The Ice king was battling Billy in a desperate bid to buy time for Finn and the candy princess to escape, hurling bolts of Ice furiously at his foe.

"Ice king..." He wanted to shout but his voice came out in a hoarse whisper instead.

"It's going to be okay, just stay with me... stay with me." Bubblegum muttered, refusing to answer the human in her arms. Finn looked up at her, they both knew that the Ice King couldn't win but his girlfriend was continuing to walk away, leaving the Ice King to hold off his impossible foe.

"What I shame that I have to kill you Ice-mage, you could have made a powerful ally. Ice and shadow go well together, but now you've chosen to defy me and there can be none who live that do so." Billy's voice echoed to Finn's ears. He saw the Lich's greenish unholy flames clashing with the Ice King's frost magic. The wizard looked deep in concentration, muttering a forgotten language while still holding the green flames at bay. He began to chant louder and louder, reaching the apex of the spell.

"What are you... NO!" Billy screamed, the flames emanating from his hands slowly beginning to creep backwards on to his forearms. He roared in fury, throwing his sword at the Ice King, narrowly missing his target's head and striking the Ice King's crown instead. He screamed again before being engulfed by his own flames, vanishing in a blaze of conflagration.

Finn cheered lightly, prompting Bubblegum to turn around. She gasped, running over to the Ice King's side, placing Finn next to him on the ground.

"But.. How?" She whispered, dumbfounded at the old blue man.

"I-I used a banishment spell I learned at wizard-con, he won't fall for it twice." He heaved, shaking with the effort. He broke into a series of nerve-racking coughs. "I don't have long to live don't I?"

"Huh? What? Why?" Finn questioned while clutching his chest. Bubblegum walked over to the Ice King's crown, bringing it over for them to examine. It was broken. One of the jewels was shattered, the golden metal around it twisted and deformed. "Oh..." Finn murmured, looking up at the old man before him grow ever so slightly older with each passing second. The Ice King's features were softening, his skin growing warmer and less blue, his long pointy nose shortening. He began to sob into the wizard's shoulder, crying at the unfairness of everything that had happened that day.

"No, no. Don't cry Finn, it feels good to have it off." His eyes were coming into sharp focus as he spoke, a tinge of intelligence in his now non-nasal voice. He turned to regard the candy princess "The Ice Magic will wear off in a few hours, then I will revert to my current age."

"I'll have peppermint bring you to the guest room. Would you like to see anyone before..." She trailed off unable to meet his bright blue eyes.

"Yes, please. I would like to see Gunther and..." He hesitated before continuing " Marceline."

"That... Can be arranged." She curtly replied, running off to find the butler who'd mysteriously disappeared through the whole ordeal. Leaving the two wounded next to each other.

"I'm so sorry. I wish it was me, you shouldn't have to die like that man. You really were a good man." Finn muttered, an occasional tear still falling from his eyes.

"Even after everything? I kidnapped princesses, annoyed you almost daily and even killed your girlfriend twice. Even after all that?" He replied, scratching his beard.

"Especially because of all that." Finn laughed, until he coughed out a handful of blood. "Why am I not dead yet?" He asked himself, not expecting the Ice King to answer.

"The princess pulled some gizmo out and placed it on your chest for a moment, it didn't work. So I fed some of my magic into you, it's whats keeping you alive, don't tell the princess. It will also keep the lich's magics at bay, consider it evening the scales against the Lich." The Ice King breathed "I wanted to give you something to say I truly am sorry for everything."

The two men fell silent, finally at peace with one another. They simply enjoyed the fact that the storm had passed and waited for the princess to return with help.


	9. Notice 1

_**This chapter is just an update. This serves as an author's note and a view for things to come.**_

_Sup guys! This is just an update on the current status of KnightFall. Currently, I think that the whole story is in a mess, the chapters don't really link together coherently and I think I can do much better than that. I will forgo updating any new chapters (sorry guys) in the view that the story is in such a state. I will instead use my writing time to revamp all the older chapters and create a more mature, competent piece of writing worthy of being a sequel to Lizzyleefree's original trilogy. After looking back at the previous chapters, I think I have disappointed myself as a writer and this story needs SERIOUS editing before continuing. I will change the plot around a little to make the story a more mature, believable plot and I will basically revamp anything that I am not happy with. Sorry to the people who want more chapters faster, I need to address this 1st.  
_

_Secondly, I am sorry if the updates no longer come once a week. School has really begun to pick up in terms of workload and I do not have much time for writing. (Calculus is a bitch) Updates will probably come only when I'm free or during school holidays. At the end of my 'O' levels I will have much more time to devote to this fanfic and give it the attention it deserves.  
_

_Alright, that's everything I wanted to say. I know this sort of violates the terms and conditions for posting chapters but I felt that I really needed to give you'll a heads up on what's to come._


	10. Chapter 9

_**Author's note: Whew! It's been a long time hasn't it ladies and gents? I've made a few changes, nothing too drastic. I won't rewrite the 1st few chapters in a 3rd person style cause I'm just too damn lazy for that. I'll just have to try and improve my writing as we go along shalt I?**__**I apologize that updates will probably still come few and far between, the only reason this chapter is out is cuz it's the holidays now. Anyway, Review, Favorite or Follow if you liked this! (It keeps me from crying myself to sleep)  
**_

Finn awoke to a neutral white ceiling. Instinctively, his hand went to his chest, where the gaping hole should have been, only to find a jagged scar in its place. The wound still throbbed beneath his touch, a reminder that he almost died mere hours ago. Checking his arms and the rest of his body, he realized that his wounds had miraculously healed. The multiple cuts on his body had sealed and the broken ribs, left wrist and right arm all seemed to be un-broken now. At the same time, he noted the many tubes running from his wrist to a drip stand and that his tattered clothes were replaced by a clean blue hospital gown. He looked around, studying his surroundings before registering that he was in the infirmary. He tried shifting into a sitting position, groaning at the pain lancing through his body. "_I may be healed but my body still hurts like hell."_

"How will the Ice Kingdom fare when I'm gone? The Fire Kingdom might decide (to) take advantage of my... absence and attack. My penguins would die by the thousands."

"Don't worry Simon, I'll make sure the penguins are not harmed."

"Wank!" came the supporting cry of Gunther.

Recognizing those voices, Finn shifted his legs off the bed, grunting again from the effort of standing. Using his drip stand for support, he shuffled to the source of the voices, the squeaking of the wheels on the drip stand echoing through the quiet infirmary. After a few steps in the hallway, he came to the door where the others were. Walking into the dimly lit room, he gave nods of acknowledgement to Bonnibei and the shriveled old man with a penguin on his lap.

"How long do you have?" Finn asked, eyes downcast at the prospect of the answer

"Not long, the Doctor said I'd have till noon at the most."Simon replied before sighing and turning to stare longingly at the window sunlight was streaming through.

"Don't worry, I've already sent Peppermint to find her. He has contacts." the Candy princess stated as if having read his thoughts.

"I'm not worried that he won't find her, I'm just don't think she'll come. After everything... I don't deserve her coming here."

"Maybe, but I'm here anyway." A silhouette in a flowing cloak separated from the shadows in a corner of the room, a blue flame glowed softly behind in the shadows. Finn and Bonnibei jumped slightly, both wondering how Marceline and the Flame Princess entered the room.

"Mar-Marceline? Is it really you?" Simon croaked

"It is, I came as fast as I could. Do you remember me now? From when I was a little girl?"

"Ye-Yes. I do."

The Queen of vampires lowered her hood, floating effortlessly next to Simon's bed, tears already welling up in her eyes. "R-Really? Please don't tell me this is a trick, please."

"I remember the song, I remember finding you wherever you went, I remember everything." Tears touched by the soft morning light streamed down Simon's wrinkled face as he continued. "Marcy, my dear Marcy I'm so sorry." His voice strained further as sobs interjected "I left a frightened little girl all alone. I should have done something, anything..."

"I wasn't alone, I had Hambo." She pulled out a thoroughly worn stuffed bear. "I managed to find the witch that Ash sold Hambo to. It took me years but it's the only thing that reminded me of the old you. I think it's time I gave him back Simon." She gingerly placed the bear on his lap next to Gunther, tears falling slowly down her pale visage. "I-I never dared to hope that you would ever remember, but now that you do, you're going to die soon. How can the world be this unfair? Why can't things just work out for once?" moaning as she buried her face in her hands in a futile effort to stop the freely flowing tears.

"It's okay, really, don't cry. I got you see you one last time, that's all an old man like me can hope for. I've always treated you as a daughter you know. We had our time. Don't you remember? We wondered the wastes for almost a hundred years, it was a good run but it's time to let me go. Just stay with me to the end that's all I can ask. Please."

"But I- Alright."

As the sun rose slowly, Marceline held the aging old man in her arms. Even as the dawn's rays burned her, she didn't seem to notice, prompting Bonnibei to draw the curtains close. Everyone else in the room were held in solemn silence, watching the scene unfold with damp eyes. Finally, at almost noon, the now completely human Simon went limp in her hands. She clutched his body, shoulders heaving as she sobbed into his blue robe. When she had no more tears left, she straightened herself, wiping away stray droplets from her eyes.

"I will have Peppermint make preparations if you want." Bonnibei offered, placing a pink hand on her shoulder.

"No. I want to bury him myself. He deserves that much from me."

"Now? It's mid-afternoon. The sun-"

"Now." Marceline declared with finality. She picked up Simon with ease, floating out the door to begin the burial. Flame Princess followed behind her silently, stopping only to say hello to both Finn and Bonnibei.

The group moved slowly with purpose to the courtyard, Marceline leading the way, cradling the body in her arms. When they reached sunlight, FP opened an umbrella, shielding Marceline as they continued to a spot Peppermint butler was waiting with a spade. The spot they picked was next to a lavishly decorated crypt made of candy and not in the least depressing. When Marceline placed the body on the soft grass, Peppermint Butler took up the spade.

"No, let me. I need to do this." She took the spade from him, and started the long process of digging a grave. Even with her long cloak and Flame Princess shielding her with an umbrella, every now and then sunlight met her bare skin. She gritted her teeth, and continued the long toil, hissing only occasionally from the pain. When she was done, her hands were blistered, blood and dirt caking her slender fingers, her skin raw at all the places touched by the sun. She bent down, lowering the former Ice king into the grave with unusual tenderness before placing Hambo gently on his chest. She paused a moment, as if saying goodbye one last time before she started to slowly and methodically fill up the grave. Once she was done, Flame Princess engraved the tombstone with dancing blue flames.

_Here lies Simon. A Wizard. A King. A Friend. A man who gave the world so much and received so little. May he rest in peace._

Below the inscription was a penguin and the runic symbol of Ice.

When she was satisfied, Marceline turned to the Bonnibei and Finn "I need to rest, We'll discuss this later tonight. I'll show myself to one of the guest room." Without waiting for a reply, she flew into the castle, gone in a moment.

"Is she going to be okay?" Finn turned to Flame Princess, meeting her fiery blue eyes for the first time in years.

"She just needs time I think and rest, I've never seen her this down. We should leave her be until she wants to talk. She must be exhausted too, the speed we flew here? I've never seen her push herself that much before. Even I could barely keep up."

"Oh sorry, you must be exhausted too! How could I forget my manners? Come, I'll have Peppermint show you to the guest rooms." The Candy Princess interjected quickly.

"Thanks, I would like that." The Fire elemental replied. She turned to follow the Butler into the castle, leaving trails of blue flames in her wake.

"Don't worry too much Finn. Marceline will be fine, she's much tougher than she looks and she looks pretty tough already. Then again, I'm sure you'd know that." Bonnibei placed a reassuring hand on Finn's shoulder. "Go get some rest."

Finn tried to take reassurance from her words, but as he passed by Marceline's room a few minutes later, He couldn't tune out the soft sobs creeping from within the darkened room no matter how hard he tried.


	11. Chapter 10

**_Surprise! Getting another Chapter out before school work becomes overwhelming. I just watched "A Glitch is a glitch" and oh my lord my aching head. Holy shit that episode is seizure-inducing, seriously anybody with a history of seizures due to flashing lights, DO NOT WATCH that episode. Anyways, thanks for all the constructive reviews and criticism guys! It really helps with writing. _****_  
_**

**_Oh yeah, to answer the guest who reviewed, wanting the Ice King to be turned into a vampire by Marceline. I did want to write that Marceline offered to save him but he refused anyway. Sometimes people just want to die. I really don't know why that particular piece of dialogue slipped my mind when I was actually writing, sometimes my chapters are segmented in the sense that I write till a particular spot one day and continue it the next. Guess that may result in some holes. Sorry!_**

Marceline sighed under the starless night sky, oblivious to the cool caress of the evening wind against her tear-stained cheeks. She rested against the hard marble chocolate balcony, eyes having emptied of tears hours ago. The faint sound of someone knocking on her door and the familiar voice of Bonnibei drifting through her room shook her out of her daze.

"Marceline? The council is about to begin soon. I know you don't normally attend royalty meetings but given the circumstances, I thought you might have wanted to be present during the meeting," Bonnibei said with uncertainty. After a few seconds of silence as her only reply, the Candy princess turned to leave before stopping in her tracks at the sound of Marceline's door clicking open.

"Wait. I'll go." Was her only reply, composing herself before floating after the Candy princess.

Silence hung between the two girls as they walked, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. Despite being close in the past, it seemed like the past few years had driven a wedge between them. The heavy silence continued until they reached the meeting hall that was already filled with people. Bonnibei took her seat at the head of the table and Marceline slunk into a corner, all around them were the various conversing people called to the emergency council, many of them allies to the Candy Kingdom. Finn and Jake walked over after talking to each other, taking the seats on the left of Bonnibei. That was apparently all the signal that everyone needed to start taking their seats.

When everyone had settled and the chamber was silent, Bonnibei began. "Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you've been summoned here to answer the threat of the Lich. Ooo stands on the brink of destruction, none can escape it. We must unite or we will all fall alone. Each kingdom is bound to this fate, this one doom." Her eyes swept across the room, glancing at each and everyone that was seated at the table as she spoke. Turning to Finn, she gestured "Bring forth the Enchiridion, Finn." Finn reached into his backpack, pulling out the leather bound tome and setting it on the table. Instantly, the chamber erupted into whispers as the various ambassadors discussed amongst themselves. Bonnibei paused for a moment, letting her words sink in before continuing, the room collectively sinking into silence. "Here is the Enchiridion, many of you know it as the Hero's Handbook, passed down to aspiring heroes over the ages. What most of you do not know is that it is also the Necronomicron, the book changes form based on who wields it. A force of both good and evil. If the Lich gets ahold of this book again in his full form, all life on Ooo will cease. That is why we have but one choice, to fight! To strike at our enemy before he strikes at us!"

A slow clap resounded throughout the hall, coming from none other than the Flame King, he rose, his tone mocking "A very rousing speech princess, however I cannot help but wonder, why are you making the speech in the first place? Is this not the Candy Kingdom?"

"It is." she replied, frowning

"Then where is the Candy Queen? Hmm?" he continued, his flaming body crackling.

"My mother, the Candy Queen has other pressing matters to attend to, I am heading this council. Is that unsatisfactory? I have ruled this kingdom for almost a decade before this, surely you do not doubt my abilities." Bonnibei replied again, her frown deepening as she tried to control her growing irritation.

"Of course not. However, I have another question. Why not just destroy the damn book? Not all of us have offended the monster-"

"So what you're trying to say is that I'm using this as an excuse to protect my kingdom. While I do not deny that I have the Candy Kingdom's interests at heart, but this involves all of Ooo. And no, the book cannot be destroyed. It is older than Ooo itself, you can try, but it will be a futile effort."

"In any case, why are you bringing us into the matter? Hasn't the Lich always been defeated by heroes? Why not just send Billy? I mean if even a human like Finn can thwart his plans, the Lich can't be all powerful." The Flame King continued, eyes flickering to Finn when he spoke of him.

"Billy has been possessed by the Lich." Bonnibei announced, letting the her words hang in the air with heavy finality. "Billy went on a rampage in this very castle just yesterday, killing a fifth of the royal guard and resulting in the death of the Ice King." Her voice trembled ever so slightly as she spoke, betraying her anger.

The Flame King began "I still don't-"

Marceline exploded from the shadows, her voice an angry shriek. Her visage grew dark and terrible, shadows behind her seeming to grow as she spoke. "Enough! Have you heard nothing the princess said? You are Kings! Yet you sit here squabbling over petty politics while the fate of your people hang in the balance!"

The chamber fell into silence for the umpteenth time.

Until, "Wh-What is that night-stalker doing here?" fury barely constrained in his voice, "She has no place here! How dare you come before me preaching on how I should manage my Kingdom!" He roared and his flaming body flared, threatening to burn the other ambassadors seated near him. The Queen of Vampires and the Elemental stared at each other, tension building between them until it felt like a balloon ready to burst. "This is blasphemy! This is madness! I will not consort with such enemies of the light. It was a mistake for me to even attend this council."

"I agree." came a smooth, calm voice. From the shadows a dim blue glimmer appeared, manifesting into the Flame-Vampire hybrid that was Flame Princess.

"I-Daughter..." The Flame King faltered for the first time that night, flames shrinking as he stared.

"Father. You should leave. Obviously we are wasting your time." She declared, creating a spiraling ball of blue flame in her palm with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"I am the Flame King, the most powerful of the Fire elementals, you cannot hurt me with fire." He muttered with a nervous laugh

"Care to test that? Father?" She spat out the last word with contempt while increasing the size of the fireball in her hand.

The Flame King was about to retort until he glanced at the intense blue flames, changing his mind after a moment of deliberation. "Do not expect any aid from the Fire Kingdom." he hissed before surging into the fire of a nearby torch and vanishing with a pop.

"The rest of you, do you all agree to send an expedition into the badlands to cast out the Lich?" Bonnibei, quickly regained control of the meeting after the commotion.

She was met with hearty "Aye"s and other forms of agreement from all over the room.

"I. Of the Wizards will lend the strength of magic to this venture." The Grand Wizard stood up, nodding with approval.

"Me, too." One of the Lemongrab Earls stood up as well.

"You have my sword, my lady." Finn drew his blood red sword, placing it on the table.

"If Finn is going, so am I." Jake declared.

"I want revenge." Marceline hissed, fists clenched into tight balls

"Sounds like fun." Flame Princess giggled, blue flames dancing across her fingertips.

"I myself will accompany this expedition. Any qualms? No? Then the matter is settled, the rest of you should prepare for war. Should we fail, Ooo will be plunged into darkness. Council dismissed."


	12. Chapter 11

**First things first. Please don't kill me. Please don't. It's been a long long time since the last update but I've been extremely busy with exams, it'll probably get worse now but I had a slight breather to write a little. Thanks for all the reviews and support, it really means something to me and it really helps. Please do criticize about anything you don't like, I am trying to improve as I go along, hopefully enough for this story to be worthy of lizzyleefree's original fics. Lastly, I just went back and read a chapter of "A New Knight" for some information and I found that she actually spelt PB's first name as _Bonnibelle_. So, I'm gonna spell it like that from now on because it does actually sound better than "Bonnibei" **

The first thing Finn noticed was the cold. He groaned as he rose, slowly trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. He turned to regard Bonnibelle's pink sleeping form next to him. A chill ran down his spine when he thought of waking up to the same sight just 3 days ago. '_The things that changed in 3 short days..' _He maneuvered his way out of the mountain of pillows surrounding him before swinging his legs off the gigantic queen bed and getting to his bare feet on the marble floor. _'Strange, the marble floor in this room is normally pretty chilly.' _

He stumbled into the bathroom to check his reflection in the mirror, half expecting massive eye bags to be draped on his face. Finn didn't sleep much, tossing and turning until exhaustion took him last night, the gigantic bed that he sank into just didn't agree with him. "It's those damn pillows" he muttered to himself. When he looked into the mirror, he froze but it wasn't eye bags that caught his attention, in fact there wasn't a single dark circle beneath either eye. It was the fact that for the first time in his 20 years of life, he was growing _facial hair. _Even the word felt weird and alien on his tongue and yet there were stubby growths above his lips and chin. He moved his calloused hands to his unshaven face, feeling the roughness of the hair beneath his fingers. He quickly snapped out of his trance before frantically searching for something to shave the hair off with.

"OW!" Bonnibelle was jolted awake, looking around with confusion. She could have sworn that she heard Finn- "Damn!"- '_Definitely Finn.__' _she thought to herself. She jumped out of bed lithely, -almost the exact opposite of how Finn struggled just minutes ago- before walking to the bathroom towards the commotion. "Finn?" she called at the bathroom door, waiting a moment of silence.

"Arghh!"

Bonnibelle swore in German, almost sure that Finn was battling some assassin behind the door. She took a step back from the door before kicking with all her might and cursed in french when pain shot through her leg. She dropped into a crouch, cradling her toes all the while a string of incoherent curses flowed from her mouth. She looked up. Not a dent or scratch on the door. _'That's it, that door is going down.'_ She growled in her mind, getting up to fetch her bow. Moments later, all that was left of said door was splinters and a empty doorway. Finn appeared at the doorway covered in splinters and very very confused. "I heard you, are you alright? Did you drive away the assassin?"

"What assassin?" the puzzlement on Finn's face confirming the authenticity of the question.

"If there wasn't an assassin then what were you-" She caught sight of his face and burst out laughing...

The dining table hadn't stopped laughing for the past 5 minutes since Bonnibelle finished telling the story, Jake literally melted into his chair with laughter, Flame Princess was setting things alit unintentionally and Marceline had buried her face on the table, heaving shoulders being the only indication needed of her laughter. Even the banana guards by the door had long since been reduced to rolling over the floor with laughter.

"It's okay Finn, I-pffftt hahahahaha" Bonnibelle's sentence was cut short when she burst into hysterical giggles upon looking at him again.

"Look, I just cut myself while trying to shave, is it really that big a deal? Guys come on."

"You hehe, you're right man but-Oh he ha hahah" Jake tried before going back to laughing.

"Fine, I'm leaving. I can come back when you guys get this out of your system." Finn got up, turned around and walked out, laughter trailing after him the whole time.

Finn stopped by his/Bonnibelle's room to pick up his sword before heading straight to the war quarter. He inhaled deeply as he stepped into the spacious room that consisted of an archery range, dummies and a sparing arena. He remembered back when he had convinced Bonnibelle to first construct this place 2 years ago. The Candy Kingdom had never needed a war quarter before, in fact this room was more of a personal sparring room between his girlfriend and him. He pulled off his hat, freeing up his shoulder-length hair. He tossed the hat to a corner of the room, walking over to one of the many armor racks that lined the walls and putting on a pair of plate-mail gauntlets. He drew his sword after activating a console in the wall that controlled the dummies and grinned as the mechanical targets hummed to life...

Finn spun around, cutting down what must have been the 50th or 51st dummy in a overhand swing. The only thoughts that filled his mind was of how easily Billy had thrashed him. _'I'm supposed to be the hero of Ooo, to protect everyone. I thought I surpassed Billy long ago but now..._ he shivered, stabbing another dummy in the face. What the automatons made up for in numbers, they lacked any real responsiveness, their swings were sluggish and weak. Finn spun around again, bringing his blood-red sword in a wide arc... only to meet a rapier in a clash of sparks. Finn found himself looking into the visage of the old tart-toter.


	13. Chapter 12

**Surprise! Chapter 12 out in record time, it'll be some time before I get free time again so this is my way of saying sorry by rushing out another chapter. Enjoy!**

The sound of screeching metal resonated throughout the room as Finn leaped away from the tart toter in another shower of sparks. "You... but, but you?" Finn couldn't gather his thoughts properly, only managing to repeat the two words in a different sequence. He studied his opponent, the bite marks that left chunks of the tart toter missing was gone. The uniform that adorned his body was also repaired, medals gleaming on his chest and black boots that shone. Finn then glanced around, finding the dummies returning to their areas and powering down.

"I did tell you that I'd be here tomorrow to high five you yesterday didn't I?" was the only reply before the old man pressed the assault. Finn barely parried an almost impossibly fast stab to his flank before trying to counter with his own heavy swing. Blades met and locked as both parties strained against each other.

"Aren't you mad?" Finn asked through gritted teeth, inwardly wondering how in the world this old man was so strong.

The Tart toter grinned. Then he grabbed Finn's sword hand and head butted him. "Who says I'm not lad? He burst into crazed laughter at that and continued swinging his sword while Finn was still reeling.

Finn grunted as the impact from his sword blocking the swings shot through his arms. Every blow was made with hammering force, contrasting with the thin rapier and the old man using it. "You know, Ugh-he grunted with the force of blocking another attack- you fight rather well for a mad old man, in fact you might just be the third person to give me such trouble at sword-play."

"Who might the other two people be then boy?"

"Well, my sister." Finn thought of Fiona's own crystal sword "And the other is the man who slaughtered a fifth of the royal guard not too long ago."

"Hahahaha, I see. Billy." The tart toter laughed a bitter, resentful sound, finally stopping his attack and seeming deep in thought as he lowered his sword, twirling his mustache with one hand.

Finn drew closer to the old man, lowering his own sword. "Wait, How do you kno-"

The tart toter sent Finn sprawling on the floor with a back handed strike before Finn even had a chance to blink or finish his sentence. "Oops, so sorry. You startled me." The old man stood over Finn for a moment before offering him a hand. Finn took the hand, pulling himself up... only to get head butted once again, feeling the air get knocked out of his lungs when he met the ground. "Get up lad, yer enemy's not gonna fight fair. That's the first lesson an adventurer like you ought to learn. As for how I knew it was Billy, I fought with and beside that lad when he was about your age too. Only he'd be able to do something like that."

"General Tart here was the one who taught Billy how to be a hero." A familiar voice echoed through the room and Finn turned to find the Candy Queen walking slowly towards the two of them in a white lab coat.

"Milady. I shall take my leave." the tart toter bowed before leaving

"Forgive me your highness but I am really confused now, who is the tart toter really? And where've you been?"

"Ah, well you see, he's headed to the others now, he was supposed to call you to my lab. I think he got a little bit carried away..." She looked at Finn's bruised and battered form. "Either way, it'll be easier if I explain at my lab where the others are."

Finn nodded before following the enigmatic queen out of the room.

When they arrived in one of her labs after navigating through a sprawling mess of secret tunnels and winding hallways, Finn found everyone else already waiting for him and the queen. When none of them sniggered, his hand automatically found it's way to his face, feeling the area where he had cut himself earlier in the morning. He was slightly shocked to find that his face was without a mark, the cut had healed in a matter of hours. He also found that the area that had healed was in fact rather cool to the touch, as if an ice-pack had been pressed to his skin.

"I bet all of you are wondering why I brought you all here today." The Candy queen's words pulled him back to the present through his thoughts.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that most of us are actually more curious about the Tart-toter than anything you're about to say right now mother." Bonnibelle cast a sidelong glance at the man standing to the side of the room at rapt attention.

"Well Bonni, for a start, his name is Edward Tart, he is the grand-general of the Candy Kingdom. You hadn't been born yet, but this man trained Billy and he helped raise the Kingdom. He ferried royal tarts only because he was the most qualified to do it. I felt it appropriate to reinstate him after working on him in my lab these past few days."

Just about every jaw in the room slammed into the ground at this point. Literally in the case of Jake.

"Of course, I haven't just been spending my time on bringing the good general back in both mind and body. Why, that would just be incredibly inefficient, spending a few days to rebuild an old general? I mean, what good would a general be without an army." The queen pulled a lever in the wall and immediately, the walls and floor of the room turned transparent. Again, jaws dropped. The entire room was held over an enormous chamber almost half the size of the kingdom. Filling this chamber was a sea of uniform battalions, knights on horseback, archers, pikemen, even a bunch of cannons around the place. The soldiers must have been in the thousands, each one equiped with uniformed equipment that displayed their rank and legion. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present the grand army of the candy kingdom."


	14. Chapter 13

_**Author's note: Well this has been long overdue now hasn't it? Please don't kill me! I still have plenty to live for! Anyway, this is chapter 13. I realize that my writing style is quite weird for an adventure time fic. Please do tell me what you guys think, remember, I accept criticism wholeheartedly. (Maybe I accept praise a little more ;) ) If you liked this then maybe you might want to check out my other fics! They're not about adventure time but I could really use some help with those. I have a particular one which has 4 views, and I'm pretty sure I contributed to 3 of them.  
**_

Finn clapped and rubbed his hands together before thrusting them near the fire, letting warmth seep back into his fingers.

He had not thought to bring gloves. The nights on the road were cold, dark and full of eyes that glared back in the shadows. He looked around him, taking in the makeshift camp they had set up for the night and marveled at how the team didn't meet any incident along the way.

They were well into the badlands now, the days scorching with blistering sand and the nights, a freezing darkness that enveloped everything. He stared into the fire before him, remembering the events that lead to this moment.

* * *

The army had been impressive, to say the least, two thousand strong. But for all it's might, the army was not complete. The Candy Queen needed more time to finish programming the soldiers that General Tart would lead.

In the days before the party set off, Finn waited anxiously, having sent a letter to his sister, hoping she could join them on the journey. For days he daydreamed constantly about his sister, in his mind's eye seeing her fight with him on various adventures and how it would be great to see her again after such a long time.

Of course, with Finn's typical luck, the letter came back with a disheartening "No" for an answer. Aaa was besieged by the Naga, the race of lizard men mounting an offensive in the land across the ocean. Fiona was needed where she was. The Candy Queen promised to send aid to Aaa. Bubblegum tried to comfort him. Finn sighed.

The actual day that they set off was actually pretty anti-climatic. Finn had expected dragons and demons to rain from the sky, the Lich sending his best to stop the party. Instead, all that happened was a parade, the citizens of the Candy Kingdom, Lemongrab keep and several friends all appearing to see the group off and wish them luck.

Bubblegum and Lemongrab had waved at the crowds. Flame Princess had flown around with Marceline. The Grand Wizard had played with a cat. Jake had spent the time saying goodbye to his kids and Lady. Finn was bored. However, once they left the city, the expedition moved at a break neck pace, they hadn't brought any horses given their destination in the desert and they tried to make up for it by stopping only when it was well into the night and everyone was too exhausted to continue. Jake had offered to simply grow and carry them all over the sands, but the idea was shot down given that an enormous yellow dog in the dessert would almost certainly alert the Lich to their presence.

So the group had walked, and walked, and walked.

The five days following their departure soon fell into a pattern. Before the break of dawn, the party would awake- much to the chagrin of Bonnibel-, and they would set out through the scorching heat of the morning and the afternoon under the sun's spiteful glare. They would only stop well after the sun had set, continuing through the cold of the night as well until they couldn't take another step, then they'd stop and make camp.

* * *

_How long more? How long do we have to reach the Lich, if the journey is already this tough, what chance do we have of actually facing him? What if he has Billy with him?_

He pondered these troubling questions before being shaken out of his thoughts by Bonnibel, sliding across the log he was sitting on to bring herself next to him.

He studied his girlfriend's tired face, noting the eye-bags and the frazzled hair before putting an arm around her and hugging her close. No words were exchanged, and yet, somehow, she knew what he was thinking and a look was enough to throw those thoughts into a corner of his mind. For now, they were both comforted by simply being in one another's presence.

In a few moments, Bonnibel slumped against him, evidently falling asleep in his arms. A smile tugged at his lips when Jake gave him a thumbs up from across the fire. Before long, the only sensations that mattered to him was the feeling of her body pressed to his and the pleasant sweet smell of gum, the rest of the world fading out...

* * *

Finn jolted awake, the campfire was gone, the endless sand was gone, even the star-saturated sky was gone. He looked around for his companions frantically, only finding a thick mist obscuring his sight of everything. He tried to swat away the mist to no avail, cold sweat now creeping down his back.

He realized with a start that the unease and the fear he felt stemmed from the fact that there was no sound. At all times, the desert was never silent, the air always filled with the music of crickets or the buzz of flies. Wherever he was, it was deathly quiet.

"Peebs! Jake! Guys?" He winced at the volume, his voice boomed and reverberated everywhere, the lack of any noise amplifying his voice to near unbearable volumes. "Hey, if this is a joke, this isn't funny."

"He he...ho aha he..." chilling laughter echoed. Resonating in the mist, the booming seeming to come from every direction and nowhere all at once.

Finn reached for his sword on instinct, his hand finding nothing but empty air where a sword hilt should have been. He glanced down for a moment, finding an empty sheath before directing his attention back to his surrounding. While his eyes darted about, alert for the slightest shadow, he wished for his sword and the protection it meant.

A flash of red appeared, and Finn barely managed to dart backwards in time to avoid being impaled. Embedded into the ground, still quivering from the force, was his crimson blade.

"Go ahead, you wanted the sword didn't you? It won't do much good here either way."

Finn regarded the blade for a moment, then he wrapped his hands around the leather-bound hilt and wrenched it out of the ground with a grunt. He raised the blade in front of him, his fingers curled, painfully tight around the handle until his knuckles turned white, turning while trying to discern where the formless voice was coming from.

"Oh you poor human mortal. You thought, for a moment that you could with your frail little body and your pointless heroics actually stop me. The Lich. I don't know whether to laugh or to pity you."

And then, with no further warning, it happened.

Fissures zigzagged along the earth beneath him. Roaring with equal parts fear and surprise, he half-leaped, half-fell out of the way as they opened like giant mouths attempting to devour him. He lost his hold on the sword that he had gripped so tightly before and it fell into the widening maws.

That wasn't the worse of it.

Hands burst forth from the earth, skeletal and rotting, clawing at the air. As Finn watched, from all around him, the dead were rising, horrors that were dead, but not dead. Alive but not truly.

The rumbling increased, and suddenly, hands erupted around and under his feet, clawing and groping for him. Before his terrified gaze, the hands grabbed him and began pulling him into the earth. He struggled, screaming aloud and clutching at air as he was pulled into the earth.

Darkness crept around him, the smell of death and rot invaded his senses just as dirt and ash invaded his orifices. "Beware, for the night is dark and full of terrors. Even heroes shall feel fear, even you Finn. Especially you..." Blackness took him.


End file.
